Corporate Social Responsibility in Practice: The Case of Textile, Knitting and Garment Industries in Malaysia

Malaysia is becoming an increasingly captivating market for international textile retailers. Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility in textile and apparel industries in Malaysia is necessary because the industry has diversified itself to value-chain, from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) producer to own brand and design supplier. There are not many studies found on approaches to implementation, drivers, and barriers for Corporate Social Responsibility in the textile sector. The objective of this paper is to examine and analyze approaches, initiatives, adoption, drivers and barriers to CSR implementation in textile and apparel industries in Malaysia. Through this study, the paper aims to understand the perspectives of the CSR practice in Malaysia and advance potential areas that could assist textile and apparel firm management to understand the hurdles preventing CSR implementation. The results of the study indicate that CSR practices among the textile, knitting and garment industry are mostly based on the stakeholders' model widely seen in the Western world. This study further reports the potential challenges of CSR practices in these industries.